I am interested in
patterns and processes of molecular
phylogeography and evolution within and among species and
natural populations of vertebrate animals, and novel genomic biotechnology
approaches to these questions. My investigations include:

My laboratory has
taken a genomic approach to the interrelated problems of evolution
and population and systematic biology. The strategy uses a "long-range
PCR" and leap-frog DNA sequencing
strategy that permits amplification and sequencing of the entire mtDNA genome of related
species as a series of ordered, contiguous fragments.
Well-resolved, highly-corroborated molecular phylogenies can
generate and test hypotheses about morphological, biogeographic,
and behavioral evolution. Phylogeographic
analysis [the analysis of genetic relationships in their
geographic context] of completely-resolved intraspecific gene
trees, based on full-length mtDNA
genomes, provides the detailed historical information and
necessary statistical power to evaluate vicariance and dispersal
phenomena at scales of interest to fisheries managers and
population biologists.

My lab has
developed a new biotechnology, iterative DNA "re-sequencing" on
microarrays, which uses a reference DNA sequence to determinehomologous
sequences in new individuals. Experiments with a human
mtDNA chip show that the approach is practical, accurate,
and cost-effective. We have developed a multi-species DNA "ArkChip"as a practical method for
assessing the genome structure of populations and species of
interest to fisheries and
species-at-risk. The
method generates up to 20 complete mtDNA genome sequences in a single experiment.

KA Johnstone, HD Marshall, & SM
Carr. 2007. Biodiversity
genomics for Species At Risk: patterns of DNA sequence variation
within and among complete mitochondrial DNA genomes of three
species of Wolffish (Anarhichas spp.). Canadian
Journal of Zoology 85,151-158. [PDF]